She is the author of several patents on novel yeast strains to convert biomass-to-ethanol and novel bacterial strains to produce new forms of cellulose. Dr. Shoemaker is currently researching the application of cellulases in biomass conversion (e.g. rice straw, wood, missed waste paper), the integration of various unit operations in biomass conversion processes (membrane filtration, enzymes) and the development of new analytical methods for quantifying specific cellulose activities. 

Dr. Shoemaker has a Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic and State University.